show me your best coleus design or container

I love your greenhouse and coleus - thank you for sharing with us!

Cumulus, I am so impressed! Impressed with your greenhouse and surrounding outdoor plants, impressed with the number and amount of work it takes to maintain and impressed at how neat and orderly you keep it! Thank you for the youtube treat.

I'd love to have a greenhouse like that with heaters for the winter.

I hope you don't lose everything in the winter. I don't know how cold Belgian winters are.

Marcia

Thanks for the positive reactions :)
I must admit that I got some assistance from my father (trimming the hedges and mowing the lawn around the greenhouse) but all the other work is from my own hands with love for this great hobby.
A friend from Sweden (who some of you may also know) also deserves some words of thanks since she provides all the Coleus cuttings. As you might know, there are only 4 different Coleus available in Belgium and most internet stores and even ebay sellers don't want to send their cuttings or plants overseas. So you have to stick with the 4 Belgian Coleus which are low quality seed strains which flower readily. And what makes things worse is that these 4 Coleus are exactly the same as when I started with plants and flowers in september 1993 . Even with expensive lighting and heating systems in my dedicated greenhouse I still loose one thirth of the cultivars I have each winter.
The day she stops with Coleus in Sweden is also the day that my Coleus hobby ends but luckily there are still other plants in the garden which are exciting to grow as you can see on this movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDRE9p55Blw&feature=youtu.be

In a last desperate try to get more Coleus in Belgium I spend several years on programming an online plant trading platform (floraswapper.com) , but it doesn't attract many Coleus growers so I'll have to accept that the future of my Coleus hobby will be decided in Sweden ;)

I believe your coleus hobby is secure! LOL Alice is a keeper!
Sidney

Wow, thanks a lot Sidney!!

Hi Hendrik,
Thank you so much for sharing a video of your beautiful coleus garden! I'm so impressed, it looks so stunning!!! And yes - as long as I'm able to keep MY coleus collection alive (and it's growing in numbers every year, ... now appr. 700 different!!!!!) I will of course continue to send you cuttings. FYI: I will receive a lot of new cuttings from Norway this week, I have a friend there who is also a coleus enthusiast. She has a huge collection also, and is collecting/sowing seeds every spring in order to breed new, exciting types. I'm so much looking forward to this package from her, I can hardly wait :)))))

700 varieties?!? I bow down to you ladies. ;)

Alice_sunn do you have any photos to share? Pretty please?

Those orange stones are expanded clay pebbles. They absorb water and nutrients and replace soil completely. All my coleus plants are grown on hydroponics which makes them grow faster so I can enjoy them earlier in our short growing seasons in Belgium.

Denisemb: I'm afraid I'm not so clever with the camera... One day, I will try to improve :))

Collecting coleus is just a fun hobby, I don't sell them. Here's a pic taken at one of the corners of the greenhouse, April 2012. Sadly, there are always a bunch that don't make it through winter, even if I try my best to overwinter them. I've been collecting coleus for c:a 20 years now, but still haven't found any *secure" way to overwinter, there are always appr 2-5% losses during the cold months. We have long, cold winters in Sweden, and many rainy, chilly summer days - that's probably why it's so difficult for me to make them happy. To my great luck, I have good friends that provide me with new ones.... and I also used to buy some from US and England, thou not every spring - since I have so many. During summer they are outside in the garden, performing quite well - depending on the weather we have here, of course. This season, the weather has been quite rainy and windy so far, and my coleus are now struggling, -- they are not so tall and bushy as they normally are at this time in summer. Well well weelll.... I think it's supposed to be like this - if it was an easy task I would probably have lost interest in this hobby a long time ago :))

I used to grow them NY state and then some in Fl. Now I am in NJ and my DD has this in front of the garage.
Linda as mentioned above, the sweet potato vine is all eaten up, the coleus are getting it too. (this is the only planter that survived the deer so far)


the planter is about 5' across. We had quite a bit of rain this week so the planta are bolting.

Alice_sunn - fantastic! Like Marcia mentioned, Cumulus79 and your greenhouses are so well organized & tidy ;) Thank you for sharing.

Here in Belgium winters are usually mild and the days are a little longer than overthere in Sweden. But last years they are getting much colder here and summers are also much more cold and rainier than 5 years agoo. So I try to be creative in both heating and lighting as you can see here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1046477/

I hope to see more snow during winter since it makes up to 25°F difference if I cover the greenhouse with snow, and it looks great too: one giant iglo with Coleus growing in it :)

Great idea on the recycled oil burners!

Just took these pix.Coleus are at their best now.

more

Probably the last container show
http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a49344d444d334e6a673d0d0a&blogview=true

Ge1836: You have so many pretty and healthy coleus and other plants, it's a pleasure to see. Thank you so much for showing/sharing.

Thanks alice-sunn .As you know it is a pleasure to garden and share the images.

Beautiful plants Ge1836! Sure is a shame they don't last all year!

Ahhmen to that. I do like the changes over the season.

GE1836, your containers are stunningly in their prime. Now you can sit back & enjoy your hard work (except when it comes time to water). ;)

Think we've talked before about the different colorations depending on light. I've been complainin' about my Beckwith's Gem and White Fingers being all green, so moved them into a morning sun/afternoon shade area. Happy to report they're both "coloring up" to their potential. Unfortunately, the Alabama Sunset in the same container looked prettier in sun, so I've learned not to plant them in that combo next time. :)

I'm sorry to hear that this will be the last of the "shows", but I can't thank you enough for sharing all the pics you've shared Ge, I have learned soooooooooo much from you!!!!!!

Maybe its my bad grammer but its is probably the last container show for this year,not forever.Speediebean

Oh Ge, your grammar is perfectly spot on, I'm just really really gonna miss drooling over your photos until next Spring. ;) That's ok though, I'll just look back through the ones you've shared over the Winter while I plan for my own benches, and 'borrow' ideas from you for my plans. If you don't mind, that is. =)
What I seem to have the most trouble with, and have learned from you, is what combos look and work really well together. Thanks to this thread, I have found that I'm totally in love with Coleus and plan to make them the Key plantings on my benches next year, along with Hostas and Setcretia. I've got several large enough containers to do combo plantings on the lower level of the area, but I had yet to get a 'feel' for what might work well together... now I think I've got a better grasp of, not only what I can/should put together, but also what else is out there, and what to encourage Boss Lady to order for next Spring. I'd never had any idea there was such a thing as 'creeping' type Coleus before reading in here and ogling your photos.
Always so much to learn, and it's always so much fun, so I just wanted to thank you for what you've (inadvertently) taught me so far. =)

Do you mind if I send you D-mails with questions over-winter, while I work on my plans for next season?

I dont mind answering questions.
I have discovered that coleus never seem to have a "down" time. They originate in TaiWan where its really hot and steamy.
When annuals planted in containers stop blooming duering July and on to August,the coleus are just coming into their prime.
If you remember to pairDark and light colored plants and vary the leaf character (ie) smooth edged and cut edged it will help too. I always try to find a common color from one plant to another in the planter.

Aaaah, I'd never thought of combining the different leaf characters like that, very cool tip!

I really need to get out back to share what my current babies have been up to; I've got some nice ones that are thriving well (in this humid heat), though no combos... yet. The wheels are turning already, however. Wondering what new baby I can get to pair up with a Fishnet Stockings I've got... maybe a Violet Tricolor. Man, this is gonna be FUN!!

Thanks, I will definitely be asking questions while I draw up plans and shopping lists this Winter. =)

I have never had luck with Fishnet stockings but it is a beauty. Look into a solid leaf to combine with leaves that are multicolored.

Okey dokey, I can do that too... already been web-surfing a bit for Coleus sites to get new ideas.

I 'liberated' a few cuttings of Fishnet Stockings from plants at work several weeks back, and am surprised at how well they are doing. Went out and got a couple shots of them, but had to take them from the deck since it's wet and rainy out this morning. Let's see how they came out.... well, the pics are horribly unclear and grainy, not to mention dark, but you can at least see how big they are after about 5 weeks or so. They are the 3 in a row on the bottom shelf. That's a Defiance on the shelf above it, a cutting from my original "mother plant", taken at the same time. I've learned that Coleus seem to really like it back there, very bright shade, so that's gonna be my Coleus Home.

I order from RosyDawn they only grow coleus.

How funny, I was just perusing that very same site and bookmarked it. WOW, what a selection!! I'm not sure what all varieties are available at work from our growers, but if I can't find what I want, then I will be shopping at RosyDawn, thanks!

Denise
I have finally stopped canning for a couple days and I planted your rooted cuttings with fresh, new soil. I've taken cuttings of most of the ones I'm going to send you.

What I want to know from anyone who has done this before - how do you overwinter them? I mean do you find cuttings in water will do best for a spring planting or should I root them and pot them up for a sunny window until spring? I have a south west facing windows in 2 rooms and I really don't want to do plant lights if I can get by without them.

Kathy

I pot up cuttings outside in summer and bring them in during October. They remain on our unheated indoor porch with five big windows (southwest exposure) and a glass door all winter. I water them rarely - once every 10 days to two weeks! That seems to be the key for my success. More water leads to more problems.

By February to March you can take cuttings from them and by mid-May they're outside for another summer.

You can use the mother plants for containers and cuttings to start the next round of winter houseplants that will become container plants for the following year.

i used to bring them in used them as houseplants. They did get pale and what not. Took cuttings in April/May and then grew them into container plants. My DD received "ralph" as she called the coleus, not sure which is was, as a shower thank you. She had ralph for more than 10 years. This in upstate NY.

10 years!!!! You lucky FL folks

Pirl,
So do you take cuttings from the growing coleus that has grown outside all summer and get them rooted and going before bringing in during Oct? Or do you bring in the mother plant in October? I just want to get this right. I'm surprised the cold temps of the unheated NY temps do not freeze the coleus. Will the temp drop to freezing in that room (I know the sun will provide heat of sorts but not when the wind is 10 degrees). This is my first year of "coleus fever" so I'm a newbie.

If I remember correctly, I tried to root larger coleus cuttings several times over the years without success. I felt the larger mother cuttings (pencil size or larger) wouldn't root in water and just rotted but haven't experienced trouble with smaller stem cuttings.

advice?
Kathy

I take cuttings from the mother plants (that were rooted the previous summer) for the following summer and just repeat the process. I eliminate any I'm not thrilled with or that didn't perform well.

The porch is an indoor, unheated porch. It has an unused, always locked door to the outside and two doors to bedrooms so it gets heat from the bedrooms and remains around 60 all night. I've tested with a thermometer.

Pirl (I can't keep real names straight here) - your sunporch is lovely!

Thanks, Denise. I only take pictures of it when it's clean! During the winter it's filled with plants but I have been deleting for the last few years so it has been more tolerable. On sunny winter days, because of the angle of the sun, it often gets to 95 degrees in there and it's actually uncomfortably hot. We close the doors to the porch by 4 PM.

Check this out:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/596774/

Thank you guys for letting me eavesdrop on your conversation about over-wintering, this will be my first year doing so and I think I've got it figured out now... except for the "WHERE in the house am I gonna put 'em!?" part. ;) I've got a few "Mother" plants, and a handful-and-a-half of cuttings that are now nearly as big as the Mother plant. Everyone gets to come inside for the winter. When I'm ready for more plants, then in March I'll take some new cuttings, pot them and let them root, then in Mid-May, everyone will head back outside again. Easy peezy lemon squeezy. =) Thank you Pirl, for the very easy-to-understand instructions! < =D

Shihtzumom, I think, if I read it correctly, Helenthequeen's DD, who had Ralph for more than 10 years, lives in upstate NY. Did I read that correctly? Now, to do that in upstate NY is a REAL feat, and I'd like to meet her!! =)

Oh thanks for that Ge, I'd forgotten all about that thread. That one's super helpful.

One thing to remember is that coleus root all along the stem, not just at the nodes. So, if you have a short cutting it can still root. Try your best to leave a maximum of two leaves at the top. Remember that the cutting you took once had the life support of an entire root system. Leaving more than two leaves just makes the cutting struggle more - yes, it looks nicer for the cutting to have a lot of leaves but it's harder on the cutting to make new roots.

Don't use the brown stems. Just use green stems for cuttings (photo #2).

You can cut a mother plant right down to stubs and it will still grow new leaves. (photo #3)